Day three started off cruisy with packing and stuffing everything back into my bags, a quick cup of tea and then the startling and devastating realisation that I had lost my moonstone ring that my sister and I have matching pair of. An unfruitful sweep of the room and late for the bus at this stage I’m hoping and praying its buried deep in my luggage – slipped off from all the stuffing. Hoping it will turn up in a full bag explosion when I get to Chitwan – Sauraha.
I met up with the rest of the group this morning – 13 people ranging from young 20’s to early 50’s. interesting dynamics and loving meeting everyone and hearing their stories.
Our transport for the tour has started off really well. Since being in Nepal I have been taking mostly tourist buses packed with people, jeeps and taxis. Today we have a tourist bus BUT just for our group. Private bus – WHAT!!!! It was a slow, steady, and bumpy ride towards Chitwan. With 2 stops; one for early lunch and one for toilet break, we finally arrived into Sauraha at 2pm. We were greeted with a cold drink and our pre-ordered late lunch (sprite and Dhal Bhat for me). After lunch we had our short briefing to let us know what we were doing for the rest of that day and the next. There was a slight bit of controversy. In my tour booking we were supposed to go on an elephant ride, others had that part taken out; apparently due to other tour goers reports of Mal-treatment of the elephants. So the other option was a jeep safari – this they also tried to persuade people wasn’t going to be worth while as the grasses in the park are quite long at the moment. So…. To the debate….many people didnt want to ride the elephants which I was surprised at, others did…..we were told the group had to come to a decision of one or the other together….only one. Getting 14 people total to make a common choice proved difficult – I didn’t mind either way as I had only done the elephant safari a few weeks ago. Luckily I did because after 20 mins of the group going back and forth they finally let us do one or the other. I chose the jeep to mix up my time in Chitwan.
We are staying at the River View Jungle Lodge for two nights, accommodations are really nice, hot water and huge bathroom, it was warm and cozy with power to charge the technologies.
The best thing about this place was having a full bag explosion and FINDING my ring down the side of my bag!!! All the stuffing trying to get everything in the bag it slipped off. I was soooooooo happy that I think I almost cried 😀
I spent the afternoon trolling the shops again and making a few smaller purchases before coming back, showering and meeting up for a “group dinner”. Food was delicious but I forgot how long it takes for 14 people’s meals to come out…..then add Nepali time to that. I was stuffed with food and ready for bed by 10….. We went to dinner at 7.
Breakfast in the morning was a sad state of affairs….trying to get potatoes here that hasn’t been tainted with capsicum is hard to crack with language barriers and allergy awareness. More milk tha tea in your pot is also very sad 😦 but we were preparing for a jeeeeep safari. 12 of us in the back of a large jeep open at the bag with two bench seats. I sat right behind the drivers cabin and stood a lot of the way to get a 180 degree view ahead and around. We saw spotted deer, crocodiles, eagles, lots of colourful birds but no rhinos or tigers. We stopped at two large lakes to get out and walk around. One had a fishing team hauling large nets across the length of it while dozens strolled the waters of the shore looking for smaller fishies.
Back in Sauraha I hit up KC’S (#1 restaurant in town) for lunch. The most amazing Palak Paneer curry, with cheesy naan. I believe I was transcended to heaven at that point. It was AMAZING!!! Pretty sure I found my new favourite curry (spinach with paneer cheese). Mild and full of goodness…..may just be my staple diet in India.
Back in the accommodations I attempted a shower of Luke warm substance to get the vital parts clean then sat on our deck with my warm booties and pillow with my book while the rest of the group had a siesta. Evening meal was a small affair as I was still stuffed from lunch – but that didnt stop me from polishing of pot of hot chochie and a few veggie nibbles. I ate with Ryan from my group, found out he was a primary teacher on the central coast teaching special needs class and did the London teaching adventure for two years too. So ended up picking his brain for a few hours before retiring home. A great treat when i turned the TV on to find movies in English.
Our time in Chitwan was quickly coming to a close and as I snuggled into bed for the night I realised only 10 days left of my tour and a day and a bit before I would be in India. I slept like a log that night, probably the first dreamless, deep sleep I’ve had since leaving Australia.
Day 5 started at 630am wake up en 8am departure. I had a slow morning as I had breakfast sorted (peanut butter and naan). I turned on the TV and found English TV (Calli it was One Tree Hill!!!), while I packed and organised my luggage for the next few days. The bus ride was about 4 hours today to get to our accommodations in Lumbini Buddha Garden. A yummy veg curry and rice with potato naan for lunch then off to our mud huts with thatch roofs to settle in for an hour.
We took a short tour back in the temples of Lumbini – catching my personal favourite – German monastery, the eternal flame, and birthplace of Buddha. It was cool to see the birthplace in day time this time as I could see how far and many the prayer flags stretched for.
That was pretty much Lumbini again. Dinner, mosquito hunt in the bedroom, slept in my first Mozi net over a bed, heard a large group of monks chanting at around 5am and the start of a new day/adventure heading toward my next new country, India.
The World Adventures of Melly B 